Radial truck support



Deen 13, 1927.' 1,652,530-

- H. A. HOUSTON RADIAL TRUCK sUPPonT.

Filed Oct, 19, 1922 f Harold Houston Patented Dec'. 13, 1927.

f UNITED HAROLD A. HOUSTON, or wiLiriivsiUno, rENivsvLvANiA, AssieiioiifToWEsTiNs- ,f a MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION .or'frHNNsYL-.- n

HOUSE ELECTRIC vANIA. Y f j ATENTI oFFiCEQ- i 'RADV'IAL TRUCK SUPPORT.

shall be adapted tofvarioustypes of service,

in which it may be employed, either with or Without a guiding truck frame. l Y

It is a further object of this invention to provide a truck frame which shall be of simple and durable Construction and which shall be adapted to be altered for a particular service requirement, in which it is toopu erate, in a simple and expeditious manner.

It frequently occurs that a locomotive originally builty without guiding `trucks will require them when the character of the service is changed. vThe locomotive may Ahave been originally designed for yard service and then be installed for roadservice or ity may be transferred from a road that is practically a tangent to one vhaving a large number of curves.

The original main frames cannot generally be built for suoli transformation on account of the long overhang necessary between the pilot beam and the first pair of drivers. InY order to add a guiding truck to suoli a stand- Y ard locomotive, it is necessary to alterthe ventire frame work of the trucks or replace them with truck members provided with suitable projections to which a guiding truck may be'secured.

My present invention is directed to a loco-- -motive-truck construction provided with Ya pilot beam having a projection which may be reversed in position so that a guiding truck may be added. i Such a pilot beam could be` embodiedinthe original construction of the truck, the projecting member being disposed inwardly between theside frames. n

kIn the accompanying drawing constituting a part hereof and in which like-reference charactersrdesignate like parts,

Figure lV is aplan view Of a locomotive truck embodying the principles Ofthis in-A vention. y .y

. Fig. 2 is a side elevationalview thereof. A Referring to Fig. l, the truck llfconstitutes Y one of a pair of articulating truck members l commonly employed on locon'iotives*which` comprises a pair of side frames 2 having the usual side pedestals Sfor movably support mak ing rjournal boxes ..4 infwhich" the? Wheeled axles 'are journaled. The side frames are provided with a transfer center bearing plate 6 having a center bearing 7 adapted to pivotally mount a locomotive cab or body 8 to4 provide a swivel connection between the truckinember and the cab. Thefront end of the truck is provided with a pilot beam 10 y*having a projecting ledge or sill l1 eX- tending inwardly in the direction of the drivers. The pilot beam 10 is secured be* tween the side frames 2 by a plurality of bolts l2. j o

lVhen it is desiredv to add a guiding truck comprising a pair of idlelguide wheels 1 3, the pilot beam l0 is removed and reversed so that the projecting sillV ll will protrude'beyond the side frames of the truck, as indicated by the dotted lines. The pilot beam l0 isprovided with a longitudinal recess 14 in which the guide truck is mounted, asuitable distance from the front drive wheels 15.

The. reversed pilot beam is secured to the vious that my construction provides a con- Y venient means for adapting guiding idle trucks to standard locomotives originally designed without them andt-hat the changes in the frame structure are few and simple to e. Although I `have described a specific eln- Abodiment of my invention, it will'be obvious to those skilledin the art that various modiiications may be made in the 'details of construction without departing from the prin ciples herein set forth. For insta-nce', the general construction of i pilot-beam side frames and idle trucks may be such as to fa-V cilitatev their adaptation to the service requirements, and the extensible pilot beam maybe of any suitable shape to adapt it for Vthe use of guiding truck service.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a railway-vehicle body support, the combination with a truck frame of a pilot beam having an extension provided thereon,

'Y said pilot` beam beingr adapted to be secured to the truck frame with its extension projeeting in a plurality of positions relative to said truckframe.

2. In n railway-vehicle body support, the combination with :L truck frame of :i pilot beam having an extension provided thereon. said pilot beam being adapted to be secured to the truck frame with its extension projecting in a plurality of alternate positions relative to said truck frame.

3. In n` railwayyeliicle body support, the

combination with :i truck frame of a pilot beam having :in extension provided thereon, said pilot beam being adapted to be secured to tbe truck frame with its extension projectingr inwardly or f nitwzirdly thereof.`

In testimony whereof, I have `hereunto subscribed my name this 13th day of October 1922. i

`HAROLD A. HOUSTON. 

